I attained immortality through meditation in the Great Qian Dynasty.

Zhao Zian looked at Zhang Jing.

"Lord Zhang, your plan is correct. But it was used in the wrong place and at the wrong time."

As the art of war says, "When things are weak, make them appear strong; when things are strong, make them appear weak."

"By surrounding it so openly, you're practically telling him, 'This is a den of dragons and tigers; run!'"

"He's not stupid."

Zhang Jing looked ashamed and cupped his hands in greeting.

"Please enlighten me, Dr. Zhao."

"My plan is very simple."

Zhao Zian stretched out his finger and tapped it on the table.

"Just four words: turning a fake into a real one."

"Turning a fake relationship into a real one?" Liu Wanshan and Zhang Jing asked in unison.

"right."

"The auction must not only be held, but it must be a grand and special event! It must be so widely known that it will be the biggest event in the history of Liuxi Town!"

"Master Liu."

Zhao Zian turned to Liu Wanshan.

"We need your help with this. With your reputation and connections, no one will doubt the message once it's spread."

Liu Wanshan straightened his chest.

"No problem! I'll have the butler take care of it right away! My Liu family's business partners in the surrounding counties are all influential figures. I'll write the letter myself; they'll have to crawl over here, even if they have to!"

Zhang Jing, however, discerned the problem.

"Dr. Zhao, isn't this inappropriate?"

"If we invite so many truly wealthy businessmen here, and that murderer goes on a killing spree in the crowd, who will bear the responsibility? I, the magistrate, would probably lose my head!"

This is his most fundamental concern as a local official.

Zhao Zian smiled.

"Lord Zhang, you still don't understand."

"Why did the murderer kill? For the Qi-Nourishing Pill. His goal was the pill, not indiscriminate killing. Killing was merely a means for him to seize the pill."

"A truly skilled hunter will remain as quiet as possible when approaching his prey, rather than alerting him."

"But for us..."

Zhao Zian's lips curled up slightly.

"This is also the best hunting ground."

"Then... what do we need to do?" Zhang Jing asked.

"you?"

Zhao Zian shook his head.

"You don't need to do anything."

"Huh?" Zhang Jing was stunned.

"Lord Zhang, you continue to serve as your county magistrate as usual. The constables of the yamen will patrol the streets regularly to maintain order. Master Liu, you are responsible for creating a lively atmosphere and making everyone believe that this is a real feast of wealth."

"Manager Su, make Jishetang as luxurious as possible, and make the auction process as realistic as possible."

"As for the rest."

Zhao Zian stood up and dusted off his sleeves.

"Leave it all to me."

"All you have to do is trust me."

Zhang Jing and Liu Wanshan exchanged a glance.

There's no turning back now that things have come to this.

Trust him!

We have no choice but to trust him!

……

As we left Jishetang, it was nearly dusk.

Zhao Zian declined Su Mei's offer to take him by carriage and went to the herb field alone.

In the center of the medicinal herb field, the spirit-gathering array was in operation.

The little fox darted out and affectionately rubbed against Zhao Zi'an's trouser leg.

Zhao Zian sat down cross-legged at the center of the formation.

The little fox closed its eyes and began to practice breathing exercises.

Zhao Zian's consciousness sank into his mind.

Ordinary martial arts methods are probably useless against that strange killer.

The opponent is incredibly fast and has keen senses; once you alert him, it will be difficult to catch him again.

We must strike decisively, leaving him nowhere to escape.

Formations are the best choice.

"Spirit Gathering Array, Bewitching Array, Illusion Killing Array..."

Too weak, and you can't trap the opponent.

Too strong, too much noise.

"Got it!"

He locked onto an ancient formation called the Four Symbols Spirit Locking Formation.

This formation is not a killing formation, but a top-level trapping formation.

It draws upon the power of the four elements—earth, water, fire, and wind—to construct a small, independent space.

Once activated, the five senses of those within the formation are obscured, and their spiritual power is suppressed.

Even with extraordinary abilities, it would be difficult to put them to use.

Most importantly, this formation is extremely well hidden before it is activated.

All you need are four items containing different spiritual energy attributes as the base of the array, which can be placed in the four directions.

Normally, they are just four ordinary objects, and no one can see anything unusual about them.

"This is it!"

Can......

These kinds of rare and precious materials are all extremely rare and hard to come by.

The killer could strike again at any time, making the auction imminent.

He can't wait.

Where can I find it?

Liu Wanshan!

That incredibly wealthy businessman who loved collecting antiques and treasures!

Zhao Zian made a decision.

The next day, I had to pay a visit to Liu Wanshan.

……

next day

The Liu family mansion.

As soon as Zhao Zian arrived at the gate, the guards recognized him.

"Dr. Zhao, the Miracle Doctor!"

Before he could finish speaking, Liu Wanshan came out to greet him.

"Dr. Zhao! Please come in, please come in!"

Liu Wanshan enthusiastically pulled him inside.

"To be honest, I've already sent the letters out as you instructed! I've personally written a letter to every business partner in the surrounding counties who's even remotely involved! As soon as they heard it was the Peiyuan Pill auction, they all went crazy, replying that they'd crawl over if they had to!"

"Thank you for your hard work, Master Liu." Zhao Zian withdrew his hand and followed him into the hall.

A servant served fragrant tea.

Liu Wanshan dismissed his attendants.

"Dr. Zhao, what's our next step?"

Zhao Zian picked up his teacup.

"Master Liu, please calm down."

"I'm here today for something else."

"Oh?" Liu Wanshan was taken aback. "Please speak, miracle doctor."

Zhao Zian put down his teacup.

"Mr. Liu, in order to ensure the auction goes smoothly, in addition to human security, we also need favorable timing and location."

"Favorable timing and location?" Liu Wanshan was somewhat puzzled.

"good."

Zhao Zian nodded.

"I would like to borrow a few items from your collection to set up a feng shui arrangement at Jishetang."

"A feng shui arrangement?" Liu Wanshan's eyes lit up.

"Doctor Zhao knows about this?"

I know a little bit about it.

Zhao Zian said calmly.

"Once this arrangement is completed, it will be able to sway the crowd, gather wealth, and make guests feel the extraordinary atmosphere of this place as soon as they enter, captivating their attention and greatly benefiting our subsequent plans."

"Great! That's wonderful!"

Liu Wanshan slapped his thigh.

"Divine Doctor, you are truly my benefactor! What do you need? Just tell me! I have no other hobbies in this life but collecting strange and unusual things! Come on! I'll take you to my treasure trove!"

He got up and personally led the way.

After passing through the corridor, the two arrived at the courtyard.

Liu Wanshan unlocked the copper lock.

Zhao Zian narrowed his eyes slightly.

Good guy.

Inside the room, a rosewood shelf reached all the way to the ceiling, and it was filled with items.

There were bronze ritual vessels from previous dynasties, ancient jade, ancient swords, and some stones, wood carvings, and bone fragments whose purpose was completely unclear...

"Miracle doctor, look!"

Liu Wanshan opened his arms.

"Any one of these treasures of mine could feed an ordinary family for a lifetime! Please pick whichever one you like!"

Zhao Zian walked among the wooden shelves, scanning each of the collectibles.

"Hmm, this thing has too much killing intent; it's not suitable."

"This has an excess of yin energy and a deficiency of yang energy, which will harm your wealth."

Liu Wanshan listened in stunned silence, finding Zhao Zian increasingly unfathomable.